Girl Scouts connect through virtual programs

Monday

At a time when patients in nursing facilities are isolated from the outside world, a Grafton teenager is helping them find comfort in the past.

Cheyanne Houston, 14, spent more than year collecting headphones, CDs and CD players to deliver to patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Inspired by a great-uncle, Richard Marchant, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and a friend’s grandfather who died of the disease, she developed the project, Making Memories with Music, to earn her silver medal, the highest honor in Cadette Scouting.

Houston, 14, a ninth grader at Grafton Middle School, had spent about a year and a half developing a project that connected her fondness for elders with her love of music.

She spent about 75 hours collecting the items with outreach that included making flyers and creating a Facebook page. To her pleasant surprise, she collected about 75 CDs in a variety of musical genres, including Broadway soundtracks and religious themes.

When the project was recently completed, she looked forward to delivering the items in person to patients at Marlborough Hills Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Marlboro, where her father, Carlos Houston, works as assistant director of nursing.

Then came the virus, and the care facility, like those across the state, closed its doors to visitors.

But, Cheyanne didn’t give up. She reached out to the facility to see if there was any way her gift could still be presented to the patients.

Activities director Linda Hogan offered to meet her in the parking lot and take the items for distribution to the patients.

A relative also brought some of the collected items to her great-uncle.

“Seeing her presenting it to the nursing home, she was beaming,’’ said Elaine Urban, the troop leader and Cheyanne’s grandmother. “She really turned it around, using her own imagination. It was amazing to see her brainstorming.’’

Although she was unable to see patients’ reactions in person, she is rewarded by the positive feedback she has heard from Ms. Hogan and from her father.

“It makes me feel happy seeing that I’ve brightened their lives while they are in isolation,’’ she said.

Cheyanne isn’t the only area Scout who found a way to make connections despite the isolation.

For area Troop 65081, the home scientist badge lived up to its name.

Troop leader Julie St. John, who lives in Millbury, helped her Brownies earn their home scientist badge by literally having them work from home to create science projects.

Before the virus, she routinely met in person with her troop of 14 Brownies and six older Scouts at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Sutton.

When the virus cancelled their in-person meetings, she “met’’ with the girls on Facebook live. But, this arrangement prevented her from seeing the girls, which she said was important.

“I missed them,’’ she said.

So she turned to a tool that has become familiar to many who are working from home: Zoom, the digital platform that allows people to connect via computer.

Together, the girls and their leader worked on science projects such as rubbing balloons over sprinkled salt and pepper to demonstrate the power of static electricity.

In another experiment, they learned that oil and vinegar don’t mix without adding an emulsifier, in this case mustard.

The girls then added a smorgasbord of spices to the salad dressing, including adobo, oregano, basil and garlic powder.

“They pulled everything out of their cabinets,’’ she said with a laugh.

She continues to seek out other projects that can be done via Zoom. She hopes that as the girls learn about the subjects of their badges, they will also take away an unspoken lesson on the power of female friendships, she said.

“I thought it was important for us to see each other,’’ she said. “This is the only activity they have that’s all girls, doing things together, having common goals. It’s important to keep in touch with each other.’’